Advance Review: ‘Ballistic’ # 2

Adam Egypt Mortimer and Darick Robertson’s ‘Ballistic’ continues this month with a story centered around separating our hero and his sidekick as they reel from the events of last issue. ‘Ballistic’ continues to be a modern marvel in the comics world, giving a truly original premise and characters, with an uncompromisingly dark look at a bleak future.

Adam Egypt Mortimer takes some time at the beginning of this issue to establish just how his fucked up version of the future came to be. It’s excellent stuff dripping with criticism for the current state of affairs, and offering a silver lining in a biotechnological future. Yet, we’re quickly reminded that said future is lined with just as much scum and villainy as before.

Butch and Bang Bang are seriously screwed after the botched bank job. Bang Bang is seriously out of it and needs a fix. Butch obliges and takes the gun to a shop in which he feeds off the tit of some transvestite. The two make up and shit hits the fan all over again. Butch is pulled into a deeper scheme and convinced that Bang Bang holds something much more important within him than we originally thought.

Mortimer shows us just how codependent Butch and Bang Bang are by separating them for the bulk of this issue. As Butch is pulled further into the criminal underworld of Repo City State, his main concern is his gun. He is surrounded by danger, and even has a being on his arm that threatens to sever his hand, but he just wants his gun. The buddy cop dynamic is further solidified.

Repo City State is truly the product of a lot of research. ‘Ballistic’ never fails to surprise or impress. The sheer level of creativity behind this twisted world is staggering. Every device is inherently unique, and Mortimer uses every page to further build this dark and disgusting future. The drug and criminal underworld should be the most interesting concept at hand, but then Mortimer has Butch shoot a flaming enzyme from his veins and it all goes out the window.

‘Ballistic’ exists in a league of its own. The world is unlike anything put to paper before it. Darick Robertson’s art brings this fucked up future to life in a way only he can. Another BigDick breakdown is sure to please readers. The unique way it offeres information about the big players in Repo City State is perfect. (Not to mention Butch’s personal interest in BigDick.)

Phallic devices that excrete tapwater, flesh eating acid rain, and hyperfamine are all panels that shock and awe. Robertson doesn’t make any compromises and often airs on the side of extreme graphic violence. It fits this world and feels like a natural extension of hell.

The art gives weight to the book unlike anything else. The disgusting coils and living technology that hang in the back of every panel is masterful. Designs channel the best of HR Gigar’s work while existing in an even more fucked up Cronenberg inspired future. It all culminates in something truly original, hard to look at, and impossible to turn away from. If certain panels don’t leave you with a pit in your stomach, than you are a twisted individual beyond the reach of help.

‘Ballistic’ is currently my favorite thing happening in comics. There is no better place to spend your money than on Repo City State. The book defies most conventions of the science fiction genre and masterfully blends biology with technology. There is so much under the surface of this book that multiple readings should garner something new each time. Don’t miss it, and tell everyone you know about it.